Phil Collins to leave the music biz – but there’s no need for the straitjacket!

Phil Collins has written on his website about his decision to retire. Here is the full ‘declaration’:

Greetings to all, I’ve decided to write this in response to the articles that surfaced last weekend regarding my retirement. Why they were printed at all is a mystery, as I haven’t spoken to anybody in the press for a few months.

However, many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted. Therefore, I would like to add my comments and try to explain again my reasons for calling it a day.

1/ I’m not stopping because of dodgy reviews or bad treatment in the press.

2/ I’m not stopping because I don’t feel loved, I know I still have a very large fanbase that loves what I do. Thank you.

3/ I’m not stopping because I don’t fit in, this was proved with “Going Back” reaching No 1 in the UK, and doing incredibly well worldwide.

4/ I’m not stopping so I can dive full time into my interest for the Alamo.

I am stopping so I can be a full time father to my two young sons on a daily basis. Some of the things mentioned above have been said by me in various interviews, but said as asides with a smile on my face and in passing. They were not meant to be “headlines”, they were small parts of a conversation. This clearly doesn’t come over in print and I should know better.

However, the result is that I have ended up sounding like a tormented weirdo who thinks he was at the Alamo in another life, who feels very sorry for himself, and is retiring hurt because of the bad press over the years. None of this is true.

Thanks for all your messages on the Forum regarding this stuff, it means a lot that you care. But there’s no need for the straitjacket!

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.